Results were related to lung inflammation (BAL neutrophil elastase and interleukin-8), structural lung disease (chest computed tomography PRAGMA-CF (Perth-Rotterdam Annotated Grid Morphometric Analysis for CF) scores), respiratory exacerbations and future detection of <i>Pseudomonas</i> on BAL.From 181 patients, 690 paired OPS-BAL cultures were obtained.
These findings suggest that NE inhibition could be a promising means of alleviating lung inflammation without increasing susceptibility to infection in ALI/ARDS during neutropenia recovery.
Excess activity of neutrophil elastase (NE) and similar proteases has been reported to cause tissue damage and to alter the remodeling process in many clinical conditions such as pneumonia, respiratory distress, and acute lung injury (ALI).
Finally, the PAI-1 mutants were more effective in reducing the neutrophil elastase and cathepsin G activities in an in vivo model of lung inflammation than were their physiological inhibitors.
LTB4 concentrations were significantly higher in pleural fluid due to pneumonia, tuberculosis and cancer with respect to congestive heart failure and correlated with neutrophil elastase, which is used as an indication of state of activation of neutrophils in the pleural space.